The next morning, after she spent the night on duty at the station, Emma trudged up the steps to the loft . David greeted her with a small smile, as he fed her little brother, who bounced with glee in his highchair. She looked around the room for the missing member of their family.

"Where's Snow?"

"Umm...She had to run to the market." Emma's patience had all but worn out at that point. The lies her parents told her had become an almost everyday occurrence.

"Tell me, Dad, are you and Mom ever going to start telling me the truth again?" She caught his gaze and held it with her own. "The lies are really starting to get annoying. What's going on? What are you hiding from me?" Her voice was laced with all the frustrations of the past few weeks, not to mention she had no sleep the night before.

"Princess, we aren't hiding anything, your super power must be on the fritz." He replied with an almost believable smile. His voice, however, was strained. Even without her sixth sense, she would have known the words were false.

"At this point, I'm not sure who you guys are trying to convince more...me or yourselves. And I've asked you, repeatedly, not to call me that." She turned and left the apartment once more, unable to be in her Father's presence for another second.

~~SQ~~

It was never a good thing to wake up to the sound of heavy knocks on the front door in Storybrooke, Maine. That, however, was the exact sound that pulled Regina from her peaceful slumber. The chances of a blood thirsty mob had diminished over the years, but one could never be too cautious. The Mayor sat up in bed, ran her fingers through her hair and grumbled as she slid from her warm bed. She slipped on her robe with sluggish movements.

As she made her way down the hall she stopped a moment and peeked into her son's room. He was spread across his bed, one arm dangled off the mattress and soft snores filled the room. Like most teenagers, he slept like the dead and was oblivious to the racket downstairs. She shook her head and continued her journey to the foyer. She opened the front door to reveal the identity of her early morning visitor. Her grip on the door knob turned her knuckles white, it was much too early for a visit from one of the idiots.

"Really, Snow, what on Earth couldn't wait until a more respectable hour on a Saturday?" Her mind landed on the worst cast scenario and dread filled her stomach. "Emma? Is Emma okay?"

"Emma is fine." Snow said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She was so focused on her own problems that she missed the way the Mayor's shoulders sagged with relief. "We need your help."

The pixie haired woman pushed past Regina and entered the house without so much as an invitation. The Mayor took a moment to collect herself before she addressed her self-invited guest.

"Please come in, make yourself at home." Regina scoffed as she closed the door behind them.

"This is no laughing matter, Regina." Snow's voice was shrill and entirely too loud for Regina's taste.

"Keep your voice down. Henry is still asleep." The brunette scolded in a harsh whisper, her brown eyes bored into hazel.

"I'm sorry, but this is important. Is there someplace we can speak freely?" Snow altered her tone to a more acceptable level. Regina nodded and led the woman into the study. She closed the door behind them and motioned for the other woman to take a seat on the couch.

"Drink?"Snow declined with a shake of her head. It was much too early to take part in alcohol, but whenever Snow was around, Regina had the overwhelming need to have just a bit of the libation to make the conversation easier on herself. Regina poured a small serving of her apple cider in a tumbler, then took a seat across from the woman.

"Okay, tell me what has you knocking on my door at this Gods' forsaken hour?" Regina waited with an air of expectation.

"Maleficent is back." Regina's glass paused halfway to her mouth. She met the hazel gaze of her former enemy.

"What?"

"Gold resurrected Maleficent."

"When?"

"Last night."

"How?"

"He used David's blood and mine to complete a potion that brought her back." Regina scrunched her face.

"Why in the world would your blood help in a potion for resurrection? Usually it has to be the person who wronged the intended target the most." Realization dawned brightly in the Mayor's eyes. She narrowed her gaze at the pixie haired woman. "What did you do?" Snow squirmed under the intense gaze of the formidable woman before her.

"We had to protect Emma from her potential for darkness. We..." Regina raised her hand to put a halt to the woman's speech.

"Have you talked to Emma about all of this?" Snow grimaced and shook her head.

Regina lowered her face into her free hand and shook her head. "Get out." The words were spoken without malice.

"What? Regina we need your help." Snow couldn't believe the brunette would turn her away in her time of need.

"What you need to do is go home and talk to your daughter. Emma and I have come too far in our relationship for it to be derailed by your past misdeed, which you expect me to hide from her." Snow opened and closed her mouth.

"But..."

"No buts, Miss Blanchard. Stop sitting there imitating a fish and go talk to your daughter. She knows you've been hiding something from her for weeks now, it's time to be honest with her. No matter the consequences. " Regina watched as the woman gathered herself and stood. They made their way out of the room and toward the direction of the front door.

"Snow..." The pixie hair woman turned with a glint of hopefulness in her eyes. "...should Emma ask what we talked about, I will not lie to her. I do not wish to cause trouble, but we don't keep secrets from each other. Not anymore. However after you've talked with her, I would be more than willing to help you, should you still need it."

"It will be too late by then, but thank you for the offer." Snow said with a barely discernible edge in her voice. Regina escorted the woman to the front door.

Once Snow crossed the threshold, Regina shut the door and leaned her weight against it. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Maleficent was back. With a firm nod, she went back upstairs and dressed for the day.

~~SQ~~

"Good morning, Madam Mayor, beautiful day isn't it?" Gold greeted the woman as she strode across his shop to stand in front of the counter.

"Why did you resurrect Maleficent?"

"Straight to the point as always, my dear." He smirked at his former student.

"Just answer the question, Rumple."

"The dragon and I had a deal, once upon a time. I was simply bringing our arrangement to a close."

"What was the deal?" Gold studied the Mayor as he waged an internal debate whether to divulge the information or not. In the end he couldn't see any harm if he shared a bit of his past deals
with the brunette.

"She allowed me to hide the True Love potion within her before you cast the Dark Curse. In exchange, if the unfortunate should happen and she met an untimely end, I would resurrect her. She did, so I fulfilled my end of the deal."

"I thought the Shepard hid the potion within the dragon." Brown eyes squinted in confusion.

"Do you really think that man could complete such a feat on his own? Really?" Rumple raised his eyebrow. Regina smirked because she really didn't and now the whole situation made sense. Mal let the man think he overpowered her. Tricky dragon.

"Where is she?"

"I've set her up in a little safe spot in the woods. She needs time to regain her power after being without it for so long." Regina chewed on her lip before she caught herself.

"Can you send me there? I'd like to speak with her." She asked, her tone sincere. When he detected no threat from the brunette he flicked his wrist and the Mayor disappeared in his crimson smoke.

When she reappeared she found herself facing the open woods. She could tell she was deep in the forest, where most of the citizens of Storybrooke would never travel. She turned around and was met with the sight of an impressive log cabin that rivaled her own home in it's grandeur.

"Little, he said." She mumbled as she took in the structure before her.

She could feel the hum of magic that kept the area hidden from the outside world. To the left of her sat the monstrosity that Cruella called a car. The brunette took a deep breath and approached the mahogany door. She pressed the door bell with a well manicured finger. Her hands smoothed the imagined creases of her shirt, in a nervous gesture she had never quite been able to break. It had been more than 30 years since she had spoken with Maleficent and she wasn't sure if the woman who answered the door would be friend or foe. As if her thoughts carried through the wood, the door swung open on it's hinges to reveal the sorceress.

She still looked just as Regina remembered her. Tall and statuesque, her blonde hair was in loose curls across her shoulders. She was dressed in form fitting yoga pants and an off the shoulder sweatshirt. More casual than she ever would have been back in the Enchanted Forest. She was surprised when she realized the woman reminded her a lot of Emma. Chocolate eyes lifted to meet blue. They studied each other for a long moment, neither sure how to begin.

"So, you're back?"

"I am, thanks to Gold and bit of help from your enemies." Regina cleared her throat.

"Former enemies." A blonde eyebrow rose at the news.

"Well then I guess they are just my enemies now. I hope you won't interfere."

"Depends on what your plans are exactly." Blue eyes studied the woman before her. She really did owe the brunette quite a lot. Even though the Queen double crossed her to regain the curse, she also brought her to the same land her child was in. Her shoulders sagged and she released a sigh.

"I don't know what my plans are. I guess, for now, I just want to regain my strength and settle in to my new home. So I suppose you could consider this a truce for the time being, dear. Would you like to come in?" Mal stepped to the side to allow the brunette to enter. Regina nodded and entered the cabin.

Her eyes traveled around the interior. The open floor plan of the first floor allowed her to see from one end of the home to the other. A large stone fireplace was the focal point of the living room and was surrounded by lush leather couches. In the opposite direction was a large, well furnished kitchen. The appliances were all stainless steel and top of the line. Regina was a little jealous. The dining area contained a round table that would welcome conversations over the meals served there. Next to the living room Regina spied floor to ceiling bookshelves that simply overflowed with books. The window seat situated next to the shelves invited one to lose themselves in the tomes. The stairs in front of her led to what she assumed would be the bedrooms of the expansive home.

"Gold outdid himself." The Mayor said after she finished her visual inspection.

"I wouldn't know. I thought this was normal here."

"No, dear, this is actually quite grand for this realm, especially for a cabin in the woods. I admit, it's a lovely home."

"I guess he figured if three villains were going to be living under one roof, we would all need enough space."

"Speaking of, where are your two guard dogs?" The Mayor asked with a smirk.

"Cruella went to inquire about some puppies and Ursula is visiting a certain pirate at the docks to find out how well he can breath under water." The blonde said straight faced. Regina's mouth hung open and her fingers twitched, unsure if she should poof to the docks, when a bright melodious laugh rang out.

"I'm kidding, dear, you should have seen your face." The blonde's laugh died out as she wiped a tear away. "Honestly, Regina, from what they've told me, they've been here a month and the town is still standing. If you must know they are both upstairs still lounging in bed."

"I don't know if I've ever heard you laugh like that before." Regina said after she recovered from the nerves the other woman had caused. "It's nice, even if it was at my expense." Her lips pulled into a smirk.

"Thank you." The blonde gave her guest a genuine smile. "Now maybe you can help me. I know I've been in this land as long as everyone else, but since someone decided to trap me under the library..." She watched as a faint flush spread across the brunette's cheeks and a small 'sorry' reached her ears. "...I have no idea how anything works in this realm." Regina nodded and with a determined grin made her way further into the cabin.

"What would you like to learn first?"

~~SQ~~

Snow's shoulders were slumped when she entered the apartment.

"Well?" David asked, even though he already knew the talk must not have gone well.

"Regina won't help us. She said she refuses to keep any secrets from Emma because their friendship is too important to her." She swallowed hard. "She also said she won't lie to Emma about our conversation, so we have no choice, but to come clean with our daughter."

David ran his fingers through his hair as he began to pace across the living room.

"What are we going to do, Snow? We can't possibly tell her the truth. She wouldn't understand."

"What choice do we have, David?" Snow sat down heavily on their couch. He pondered their options for what seemed like ages. He stopped midway across the room and looked at his wife.

"I've got it. All we have to do is figure out how to keep her away from Cruella, Ursula and, most all of, Maleficent. If we can do that then hopefully she will never find out that we stole Maleficent's child in order to save our own." Snow's eyes widen when she realized the ramifications if Emma discovered their secret.

"If she finds out about that, it's only a matter of time before the events that followed come to light." Snow looked at her husband, uncertainty swam in her hazel eyes.

"We'll figure something out, Snow, we have too."

Snow stood and wrapped her arms around her Prince. Maybe everything would work out.